Fear of Flying Gets Woman Lighter Sentence For Drunken Plane Incident

An English woman's fear of flying got her off the hook on Monday as a judge refused to send her to jail for drunkenly brawling with other passengers and the crew on an EasyJet flight.

Lynn Grimes, a 41-year-old woman who was returning to Manchester from vacation in Athens on December 7, spent most of her flight back to England sitting with the cabin crew, who she had told she didn't fly well, and drinking wine. When she was told to return to her actual seat for landing, she was less then pleased and more than tipsy.

Grimes pleaded guilty to endangering an aircraft and two counts of assault, normally more than enough to earn passage to the clink, but judge Jonathan Geake said he wouldn't imprison somebody who "simply panicked."

Grimes' lawyer claimed "She was at the time very apologetic and severely embarrassed by her behavior." The lawyer also noted that she has since flown to Greece multiple times "without incident.:

Grimes received a 18 month suspended sentence and an appointment with a medical professional. She also serve 60 hours of community service.